Fundraising for RNC in Charlotte is ahead of schedule amid record Republican hauls

Fundraising for the 2020 Republican National Convention scheduled for August in Charlotte is ahead of schedule, according to the co-chair of the host committee, LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda.

With the American political landscape significantly more polarized than when Charlotte hosted the Democratic National Convention in 2012, there was some skepticism whether Charlotte would shell out for fundraising, considering the 2012 convention missed fundraising targets.

But Republicans have had no issue fundraising for 2020, raising nearly half a billion dollars last year for President Donald Trump’s re-election.

“I think people are excited,” Lebda said in an interview. He declined to disclose how much or from whom the fundraising came.

He is one of the three co-chairs of the host committee, alongside Walter Price, the managing director of the Charlotte law firm Moore & Van Allen, and Ned Curran, CEO Emeritus of Northwood Office, a commercial real estate agency. The CEO of the host committee is former Charlotte city counciman John Lassiter.

The 2012 DNC, barred from getting cash from corporations and lobbyists, struggled to meet its fundraising goals, eventually coming up about $12.5 million short.

The 2020 convention, scheduled for August 24-27 at the Spectrum Center, will be a political flashpoint despite the inevitable result: the re-nomination of Trump. Democrats have pledged to protest the event, and past skirmishes between activists have led to concerns about security.

While there has been questions over whether Charlotte would benefit from the RNC, the host committee is working to make sure that businesses in the Carolinas get convention work, Lebda said.

A longtime Republican donor, Lebda stressed that the host committee was, ultimately, a bipartisan effort to bring an economic boost to Charlotte.

“It’s nice to see a bipartisan group working on this and really getting support from many of the major and minor companies in Charlotte, plus a lot of people from out of town, too,” he said. “Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or a Libertarian or a Socialist, I think it’ll be a good thing for Charlotte to show that we can have a thriving convention business.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 5:30 AM.